Transfigured Night / Trio in G Minor / Stabat Mater
A tribute to Pavel Šmok
It has now been five years since we have lost an unforgettable legend of Czech choreography, Pavel Šmok. To commemorate his iconic talent, we have decided to dedicate our spring premiere to this choreographer, essential to the Czech independent dance scene of the second half of the 20th century. We will be celebrating Šmok with a selection of his most extraordinary works in three parts. Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) by Arnold Schoenberg is a score based on a poem by Richard Dehmel. Šmok sets the story of a pregnant woman in the post WWII era. A Jewish girl is returning from a concentration camp, she meets her new love but he needs to face a secret from her past – she bears a child of another. The second part of the evening concert is a score by Bedřich Smetana, Trio in G Minor. In this piece, Smetana is coming to terms with the death of his daughter, Bedřiška. Šmok follows the score order and adds to it his famous musicality, transformed into the urge to express the thoughts and emotions hidden in it. The cherry on the top of this celebratory evening is one of the most acclaimed works by Pavel Šmok, Stabat Mater, danced to the well‑known oratorio of the same name by Antonin Dvořák.
Premiere 5th March 2021, Janáček Theatre
